England's Harry Brook and Ben Duckett combined for a brilliant partnership and the returning Mark Wood snared three wickets as the visitors beat Pakistan by 63 runs in the third Twenty20 in Karachi on Friday to take a 2-1 lead in the seven-match series.
Pakistan opener Abid Ali scored a half-century but England's seam bowlers used the muggy conditions to their advantage to restrict the tourists to 126 for five at the close of a rain-hit opening day of the second Test at the Rose Bowl on Thursday.
Pakistan find their tournament in tatters
Hasan Ali, who last played a Test against Sri Lanka in Galle in July, has picked up 77 wickets in 21 Tests.
The opening Test, also played in Karachi, ended in a draw as well.
Following Pakistan's forgettable World Cup in India, Babar Azam stepped down as skipper of the national team.
Opener Ahmed Shehzad has been recalled to Pakistan's Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka after being dropped for the April-May series against Bangladesh on disciplinary grounds. Besides Shehzad, the selectors also recalled southpaw Shan Masood, another out-of-favour opener, who was ignored for the last few series and tournaments.
Mohammad Rizwan scored a fluent 88 and Haris Rauf and Mohammed Nawaz took three wickets each as Pakistan edged England by three runs in a rollercoaster finish to the fourth Twenty20 in Karachi.
Naqvi previously mentioned that a "major surgery" was required in the team after Pakistan's defeat to India
The 33-year-old said his rehabilitation was going well and that he would undergo a scan on Wednesday.
Babar Azam's decision to step down from Pakistan captaincy has evoked a mixed reaction from his teammates.
Pakistan bowlers had to break their back for the occasional success on a flat track at the National Stadium and more toil awaited them after New Zealand resumed on 440-6.
New Zealand, who abandoned their white-ball tour of Pakistan last year due to security concerns, are looking to end a run of four straight test defeats with Southee as the new captain following the six-year tenure of Kane Williamson.
Pakistan showcased resilience with Rizwan contributing a powerful 88 runs
Nauman was denied a hat-trick by Brook, who kept England's chase going, despite Pope being bowled by Abrar and Stokes losing his wicket in a run-out following a mix-up between the batters.
Australia's chief selector George Bailey has cautioned against repeating the mistakes made in the aftermath of leg-spinner Shane Warne's retirement when long-standing opener David Warner finally calls time on his Test career.
The role of outside elements including agents of players and some former players who ran social media campaigns also have not helped ease the simmering tensions in the team.
South Africa will need to knock off just 41 runs on Sunday to beat Pakistan in the second Test and take a winning 2-0 lead in the three-test series despite Pakistan providing gallant resistance on the third day at Newlands.
Sri Lanka took an 80-run lead despite Shaheen Shah's five-star effort on Day 2 of the 2nd Test in Karachi.
A crowd of more than 22,000 at his home Sydney Cricket Ground rose for a final ovation as Warner left the field.
Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan made half-centuries as Pakistan ambled to 222 for three at the close on day three of the second Test on Saturday, 358 runs ahead of England after Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah had scuttled the tourists lower order before lunch.
IMAGES from Day 3 of the 3rd Test played between Australia and Pakistan at SCG on Friday.
But Stokes then introduced Ahmed in the afternoon session and the youngster ripped apart Pakistan's middle order.
The central contracts stand-off between Pakistan Cricket Board and top national players ended on Wednesday.
Shoaib Akhtar lambasted the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for bringing in 'average players'
Star England paceman James Anderson has broken Australian legend Glenn McGrath's record for number of wickets by a pacer in home conditions. Anderson, who claimed four wickets in England's thumping victory against Pakistan in the second Test, has now 291 wickets at home. The England pacer overcomes McGrath's long-standing record of 289 wickets that he took in Australia.
The Pakistan team's over-dependency on their opening stand came back to haunt them as Zimbabwe defeated them in a low-scoring thriller by one run to clinch their first Super-12 win of the ongoing T20 World Cup on Thursday at the Perth Stadium.
Opener Aiden Markram made a return to form as he scored 78 to help South Africa into a strong position on the opening day of the second Test against Pakistan at Newlands on Thursday.
Thousands of fans from both countries have crisscrossed the globe to watch their team in action and trust rival captains Rohit Sharma and Babar Azam to tell you this is another 'match' for them, but all the 22 players and reserves know that this is 'The Match'.
The source also said that the board felt Babar would be better off just captaining the white-ball squads and that the Test captaincy should be given to someone else, preferably Shan Masood or Mohammad Rizwan.
A well-informed source close to Shaheen said that the bowler was upset that not even once the PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi or the national selectors have spoken to him about their future plans as far as the captaincy or appointment of coaches is concerned.
England were 7-1 at stumps with Ben Duckett (4) and Ollie Pope (3) batting together
Pakistan retained under-fire skipper Misbah-ul Haq and out-of-form Muhammad Hafeez, but dropped tall left-arm pacer Muhammad Irfan from the 28-man probables' list for the two-Test series against South Africa.
Opener Azhar Ali was unbeaten on 85 as Pakistan crawled to 169 for two on a rain-affected first day of the series-deciding third Test against West Indies in Dominica on Wednesday.
Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam finally found their scoring touch with half centuries in a 105-run stand to lay the foundation for victory.
Sealing their second T20 World Cup, England are now the first nation to hold both global white-ball trophies, having won the 50-over World Cup on home soil in 2019.
On the ropes at 43-4 early in their innings, Pakistan rallied behind spectacular half centuries from Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan to post 185 for nine and delight the lively crowd of 30,000 roaring them on at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Given the relative paucity of cricket this year, Test cricket has emerged as a healer for deprived fans, notes Dhruv Munjal.
Hayden believes that the team's performance would improve by the time they travel to India for the 50-over World Cup.
Stokes brought his first half-century in T20I cricket with a four in 47 balls while levelling the scores. He (unbeaten at 52* off 49 balls) then brought up the winning runs, with Liam Livingstone at 1* and England finished the innings at 138/5 in 19 overs.
